Stirling cycle heat pumps for industrial heat recovery
Heat pump based on the Stirling cycle able to use wide temperature sources will enable reuse of industrial heat.
The Regents of the University of California, Merced
Recipient
Merced, CA
Recipient Location
Senate District
27th
Assembly District
$78,599
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
A comprehensive model of the system has been implemented. This model is based on an ideal thermodynamic treatment of the reversed Stirling cycle. The model is augmented with thermodynamic and kinetic analyses of the non-idealities associated with the system. Primary amongst these are viscous loss associated with the liquid pistons and incomplete heat transfer in the active volumes and regenerator. The model allows for design calculations balancing system thermal power density and coefficient of performance.
A prototype system is under construction.
The Issue
There are three primary challenges limiting heat pump usage in industrial heat recovery:
(1) Current heat pumps are unable to provide heat at temperatures necessary for many industrial applications.
(2) The efficiency of high temperature heat pumps is too low to justify their implementation in many industrial contexts.
(3) Finally, the high capital cost of heat pumps makes them noncompetitive with traditional heating sources.
Project Innovation
The Recipient is developing a novel Stirling cycle with liquid piston technology that: alleviates temperature limits imposed by refrigerants experiencing phase change, improves heat transfer performance, and reduces construction complexity and cost.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
This project could result in improvements to industrial heat pump efficiency based on the implementation of Stirling cycles and liquid piston technology. The use of industrial heat pumps for heat recovery will reduce energy usage for heating, resulting in the ratepayer benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and reduced energy consumption.

Affordability
This project will implement liquid pistons to simplify construction and reduce the cost of industrial heat pumps useful for waste heat recovery. It has the potential to lower capital and operational costs by 20 percent.

Environmental Sustainability
This project is developing high temperature heat pump technology that can replace natural gas fired industrial heating processes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Key Project Members

James Palko
Match Partners

The Regents of the University of California, Merced
